Within the town the sweet pea was first commercially cultivated, under the variety named Eckford Sweet Pea, after its inventor, nursery-man Henry Eckford. He first introduced a variety of the sweet pea in 1882, and set up in Wem in 1888, developing and producing many more varieties. There is a road to signify the Eckford name, called Eckford Park (within Wem). Each year, the Eckford Sweet Pea Society of Wem hold a sweet pea festival. In Victorian times, the town was known as "Wem, where the sweet peas grow".[citation needed]

Brewing, initially a 'cottage industry', was carried out in Wem as early as 1700, when Richard Gough wrote of a contemporary in his History of Myddle a Latin aphorism he translated: Let slaves admire base things, but my friend still/My cup and can with Wem's stoute ale shall fill.[3] By 1900[4] a Shrewsbury and Wem Brewery Company traded on a widespread scale after acquiring the brewery in Noble Street previously run by Charles Henry Kynaston.[5] The company was taken over in turn by Greenall Whitley & Co Ltd[6] but the brewery was closed in 1988.[7] From 1986 to 1989 the brewery served as the shirt sponsor for Shrewsbury Town. [8]

Wem's main claim to fame is that it was the childhood home of England's greatest essayist and critic, William Hazlitt. Hazlitt's father moved their family there when William was just a child. Hazlitt senior became the

Unitarian Minister in the town [13] occupying a building on Noble Street that still stands. In 2008 the town held a 230th Anniversary Celebration of Hazlitt's Life and work for five days, hosted by author Edouard d'Araille who gave series of talks and conference about 'William of Wem'. William Hazlitt moved away from Wem in later life and ultimately died in London.

Wem was the fiefdom of Judge Jeffreys, known as the "hanging judge" for his willingness to impose capital punishment on supporters of the Duke of Monmouth. His seat was Lowe Hall at The Lowe, Wem. In 1683 he was made Baron Jeffreys of Wem.